Minnow snare



S. J. FUIKS MINNow SNARE Filed May 19, 1939 Patented Dec. i9, i939 i la?NlTE MENNOW SNARE Samuel .F.IFuiks, Chicago, lll.

Application May 19, i939, Serial No. 274,576

9 Claims. (Cl. 43-6) This invention relates to a minnow snare or snareof the character described which will be trap, and more particularly toa snare adapted cheap to manufacture, easy to assemble, and to besuspended in the water and which is conconvenient in use.

structed in such a manner that small minnows Further objects will beapparent from` the I. may be snared thereon` specification and theappended claims. 5

lt is an object of the present invention to pro- In the drawing:

vide a snare unit of the type described which is Fig. i is a sideelevation of one embodiment `provided with a large number of radiallyeX- of the invention and illustrates a single snare tending hooksdistributed over a comparatively unit attached to a supporting line andprovided lo long attenuated member and which may be supwith a suitableweight.v lb ported in the water in such a manner that min- Fig. 2 is afragmentary detail section of the nows passing thereby in any directionmay be lower end or" the snare member illustrated in snared thereon.Fig. l.

The invention also contemplates a snare or Fig. 3 is a transversesectional View through if trap in 'which a plurality of the individualsnare the embodiment illustrated in Figs. l and 2 and l5 units aredistributed in such a manner as to is taken on a line substantiallycorresponding to form an enclosure therebetween; also in which line BMSof Fig, 1.

the individual sharing members are distributed Fig. 4. is a perspectiveView illustrating the use in such a manner as to be considerably more ofa plurality of the individual snare members su eective than when asingle unit is used alone. to provide a so-called multiple snare device.2,0

Another object of the invention is to provide Fig. 5 is a fragmentarydetail view illustrating a comparatively long attenuated flexiblesupport a slightly different embodiment of multiple snare member havinga large number of radially eX- device. tending and preferably somewhatelongated Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view of a slightly "l5 hooksdistributed over its entire length and havdiierent embodiment of thebody member of the 5 ing means at one end for the attachment of a snare.supporting line and at the opposite end means Fig. 7 is a View of afurther modified snare. for supporting a suitable Weight or sinker. TheReferring to the drawing in detail, the emline may be attached to a boator any other bodirnent illustrated comprises an elongated :so objectwhereby the snare may be pendently member l having -a plurality ofhorizontally exsupported and the elongated member swivelly tending,radially distributed hooks 2 secured supported in such a manner that itmay easily thereto. The hooks may be randomly distributed be rotatedbetween the line and sinker without in any desired manner, but arepreferably in a rotating either one. In other words, the trapspiral-like arrangement over the length of the member itself is swivellysupportedv so that, as member l. The member I preferably comprises 3.the minnows strike the hooks, the device may an elongated section ofheavily insulated flexible rotate slightly in either direction, whichrotating wire. This wire may be of any suitable type but action willincrease the chance of the minnows preferably Compl-"i505 a Single metalWife COT@ 3 being shared on the hooks. which is preferably a flexiblemultiple strand lo The maintenance of live minnows for bait wire, suchas ordinarily used in electrical devices. is always a problem to thefisherman, and min- This wire core is provided with a comparatively newsare ordinarily rst caught and then kept in thick waterproof insulationand, in fact, the a large pail or other receptacle having water usualheavily insulated rubber covered Wire is therein or which may besuspended over the side suitable for the purpose. It is, of course, deofthe boat. Minnows kept in this manner often sirable that the 1000kSLlDlOOflng member Should 45 die from lacl ci oxygen. In the presentinvenbe comparatively flexible throughout its length.. .tion they may bekept alive in their natural ele- The wire 3 is formed at each end of themember Cil ment until required for use. to provide loops 5 to whichmaybe connected The present invention is adapted to be pend Oli-llerelements 0f the deVCen ently supported on the boat or other suitablesup- The upper end of the snare 1s provided with a 50 ports and may bepulled up at any time when swivel t secured to the adjacent wire loop 5,and fresh bait is required. In this manner fresh live any suitable line7 is secured to this swivel li for minnows may be secured at the timewanted for supporting the snare unit. The opposite end of use. the snaremember is provided with a swivel El A further object is the provision ofa minnow which is secured to the adjacent wire loop 5, 55

and a snap 9 is secured to the swivel for the purpose of supporting asuitable weight or sinker I0, as shown. The snap 9 is preferably of theusual safety pin type commonly used on fishing tackle.

The hooks 2 are preferably comparatively long and formed of smalldiameter resilient wire, although it will be understood that anysuitable minnow snaring members may be used. In assembling these hookson the body member I, the rubber-like covering or insulation 4 of themember I is provided with a plurality of transverse perforations II(Fig. 3) and the hooks are extended therethrough in an arrangementsubstantially as illustrated in Fig. 3 withthe eyes I2 of the hookssnugly adjacent the body member I. After these hooks are positioned asshown, they are secured in place by means of a strand I3 which may be ofany suitable type, preferably similar to a heavy waterproofed linen `orsilk thread. This strand may be spirally wound on. the body member andextends through all of the hook eyelets I2, the ends of the strand beingwound around the ends of the body member I and secured thereto in anysuitable manner as shown at I4. It will be apparent that gut or a neilexible wire may be used for securing the hooks in the same manner ifdesired.

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment comprising a plurality of theindividual snare units arranged to provide a snare or trap enclosure.With this type of snare the minnows which pass inwardly between theindividual snares are apt to be caught on some of the hooks as theyattempt to pass outwardly. In this embodiment a ring-like member I5 ofany desired shape may be supported on a line I6 in the mannerillustrated, and each of the snare units is provided at its upper endwith a safety pin snap member' I 8 secured to the swivel 6 in place ofthe line shown in Fig. l. These snaps I8 may be hooked over the ringmember I5 and any desired number of the individual snares may besupported thereon and distributed as desired.

Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the multiple snare device inwhich a substantially triangulary wire support II is provided having itshorizontal portion I9 formed to provide an elongated sinuous membersubstantially as illustrated. In this embodiment, the individual snareunits are provided with snaps I8, in the same manner as shown in Fig. 4,for supporting the individual snare units on the sinuous bar I9. Thesinuous shape of the bar I9 tends to prevent the units from getting outof place after they are hooked thereon. The ring I5 of the embodimentshown in Fig. 4 may be provided with suitable notches or depressions forretaining the snares in spaced relation, or it may be sinuously shapedif desired.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail View of a slightly different embodimentin which the body member of the device is formed of a single fiexiblewire 20, and radially disposed hooks 2l are secured at intervals to thiswire 2B. The hooks may be secured by soldering at 22 or in any othersuitable manner. The wire 2l! may be provided with swivels and a sinker,in the same manner as shown in Fig. l. Also, the wire 20 is preferablyspirally wrapped with heavy adhesive tape 23 with the ends secured inplace in any suitable manner.

In Fig. '7 the elongated body member la may be similar to thatpreviously described and similarly provided with laterally extendinghooks I2. In this embodiment the body member lo may be in the form of aloop, as shown, with its ends connected to a suitable support 20 havinga swivel 2h connected thereto, to which the line 'I may be connected. Atthe bottom end of the loop and intermediate the ends of the body member,a weight 22 is supported by means of a swivel 23 attached to the bodymember, as shown. This device may swivelly operate between the line andweight in the same manner as the embodiments previously described.

The present invention is not in any sense a lure or bait but is intendedsolely as a snare or trap for small minnows. The flexibility and freerotation of the snare member is of considerable importance as it greatlyincreases the possibility of the minnows being snared even though theyfirst strike the shank or, in fact, any portion of a hook other than thepoint.

Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and it is therefore desired that the invention be limitedonly by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

l. A minnow snare comprising an elongate hooks extending through andsupported in said member, and a ilexible strand spirally wound on Saidmember and extending through the eyes of said hooks to secure themagainst longitudinal movement while permitting a degree of rotarymovement.

3. A minnow snare comprising a length of flexible wire having acomparatively thick rubber-like insulation covering, and radiallydistributed outwardly extended hooks having their shanks supported insaid insulating material.

4. A minnow snare comprising a length of exible wire having acomparatively thick rubberlike insulation covering, radially distributedoutwardly extended hooks having their Shanks supported in saidinsulating material, and a spirally wound flexible strand extendingthrough the eyes of said hooks and secured to said member.

5. A minnow snare comprising a long slender flexible member havingradially distributed outwardly extending resilient hooks distributedover its length, a swivel on one end of said member for pendentlysupporting said member on a line, a weight on the opposite end of saidmember, and a swivel between said weight and said member, said weightbeing sufliciently heavy to retain said member in vertical position whensuspended in water and to enable said member to be rotated between saidswivels when said hooks are struck by minnows.

6. A minnow snare comprising an elongated' V said wire between a lineand said sinker.

7. A minnow snare of the character described comprising a plurality ofelongated snare units, each having radially positioned hooks distributedover its length and each unit being provided with a weight at its lowerend, a supporting member for said snare units and arranged to supportsaid units in spaced relation to provide an enclosure therebetween.

8. A multiple snare device of the character described comprising ahorizontally positioned elongated support member and a plurality ofsnare units supported thereon, said snare units each comprising anelongated exib-le body portion having a swivel at each end and laterallyextending hooks radially distributed over its length, means secured tothe upper swivel for supporting said snare member on said supportmember, and a sinker supported on the opposite swivel, said sinker beingof suicient weight to enable the snare member to be rotated between itssupport and the sinker by minnows striking said hooks.

9. A minnow snare unit comprising an elongated flexible wire, radiallydistributed outwardly extending hooks secured to said Wire anddistributed over its length, a Waterproof tape covering wound on saidwire between said hooks, and a sinker on one end of said wire.

SAMUEL J. FUIKS.

